Rotary engine.



PATENTED JAN. 1, 1907. W. SNEE. ROTARY ENGINE. APPLICATION FILED APILS, 1906. RENEWED DBO. a, 190a.

If! f I v f M N E 45 lar parallel-arranged plates or rings 11, con- UNITED STATES rgnnr oFrIoE.

WILLIAM SNEE, OF WEST ELIZABETH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO JOHN A. SNEE, OF WEST'ELIZABETH, PENNSYLVANIA.

To aZZ whom; it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM SNEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at West Elizabeth, in the county of'Allegheny and 5 State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Rotary Engines; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the, in-

' vention, such as will enable others skilled in ID the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form apart of this specification.

This invention relates to an improved ro. tary engine, the object being to provide an engine of this ty e that willbe simple in construction, durab e, and of-small initial cost;

and with these ends in view theinvent'ion 20 consists in the certain details of construction and combination of parts, as will be fully described hereinafter.

In the accompanyin drawings,'Figure 1 is a side central sectiona elevation of my im- 2 5' proved rotary engine, the same beingconstructed and arranged in accordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same,,a part of the view being shown in vertical section the better to show the inner o Workingtparts. Fig. 3 is 'a side sectional elevation o a portion of the en ine, showing a means whereby a series in mu tiple of steamjets may be enteredto give greater power to the engine.

To put my invention into. practice, and thereby provide a rotary steam-engine, I form from cast metal an annular shell 1, fitted with a removable head 2, the said shell being of suitable diameter and .width and having one or more steam-inlets 5 and an exhaust-port 6. Operating within this shell 1 and sup orted upon a stout shaft 4 is a ro tatable liead or piston, comprising a hub 7,

rigidly attached to said shaft, and two annunected with said hub by integral arms. This hub 7 is formed with an extension 8 and sup ported in a bearing 3. and fitted with a powerwheel 9. Intermediate of the two parallel 5o rings 11 are two sets of propeller-blades arranged at different angles, the one set being in radial lines with the center of the en- Specification of LettersPatent.

. Applicationfiled April 3,1906. Renewed December 3,1906. Serial No. 346.164.

the medium of the gmeand the other set 12 tangent with an inscribed circle. The outer or peripheral set Patented ,J' an. 1, 1907.

of ropeller-blades 12 are arranged directl in out of the inner or radial set 10 in suc manner that obtuse angles are formed be- 7 tween each pair of blades, as will be best seen at Fig. 2 of the drawings. These blades 10 and 12 are separated the one from the other, leaving an intervening space 16, which ermits a partial flow of steam from one ang e to the other ahead.

The operation is as follows: Steam or compressed air under pressure is admittedthrough pipe or pipes 5, striking the outer propeller-blades at a deflectin --angle, and is deflected to the inner or radia blades, meeting the same at a right angle to the axis of the engine, thereby obtaining the' full forward or traveling pressure of the steam or air as eachpair of propellers is presented by the rotatable motion thus imparted.

At Fi 3 of the drawin s I have shown a modifie form of entering t e steam-pressure which consists in arranging a slide or other valve 13 over a series of inlet-ports 14, each of said ports entering the cylinder at angles approximately at right angles to each prope l er-blade presented. This valve may be manipulated by means of a lever 15 to open one or all of the ports at the same time.

It is obvious that various modifications and changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore I do not wish to confine myself to the exact construction shown and described, but wish to claim all such modified forms as would come properly. within the. general scope of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A rotary engine, comprising an annular. shell with inlet and outlet orts, a rotatable piston mounted within sai shell, said piston being provided with two sets of propellerblades, the inner set being arranged in radial lines andthe outer set in lines inscribed circle.

2. A rotary engine, comprising an annular shell with inlet and outlet ports, a rotatable piston mounted therein, said piston being provided with a plurality of series of propeller-blades arran ed in radial and lines tangent to an inscri ed circle, whereby each tangent to an pair of blades form an obtuse angle, the one angular lines, the one with the other, leaving 10 with the other, as described. an intervening space between each pair of 3. A rotary engine, comprising an annular blades, as described.

shell with inlet and outlet ports, a rotatable In testimony whereof I affix my signature piston mounted therein, said piston being in presence of two witnesses.

provided with two sets of propellers, the WILLIAM SNEE.

inner set being arranged in radial lines and Witnesses:

the outer set in lines tangent to an inscribed HENRY F. WEAVER,

circle, said propeller-blades forming obtuse F. J. KERRIGAN. 

